# Mark Perrin Lowrey
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{{Short description|US Confederate general & preacher (1828-1885)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox military person
|nickname = "Preacher General"
"The Gallant Preacher Soldier"
|name = Mark Perrin Lowrey
|birth_date = {{birth date|1828|12|30}}
|birth_place = [McNairy County](/source/McNairy_County%2C_Tennessee), [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee)
|death_date = {{Death date and age|1885|2|27|1828|12|30}}
|death_place = [Middleton](/source/Middleton%2C_Tennessee), [Tennessee](/source/Tennessee)
|burial_place = Old Macedonia Cemetery, Blue Mountain, Mississippi
|burial_label = Place of burial
|image = Mark Perrin Lowrey.jpg
|caption = Mark Perrin Lowrey, Brigadier General in the Confederate Army
|allegiance = [United States of America](/source/United_States_of_America)
[Confederate States of America](/source/Confederate_States_of_America)
|rank = [Private](/source/Private_(rank)) (USA)
35px
[Brigadier General](/source/Brigadier_General_(CSA)) (CSA)
|commands =
|battles = [Mexican-American War](/source/Mexican-American_War)
[American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War)
|other_work = Preacher
Founder and President of the [Blue Mountain Female Institute](/source/Blue_Mountain_College) which is now called the [Blue Mountain College](/source/Blue_Mountain_College).
|signature = Signature of Mark Perrin Lowrey (1828–1885).png
}}
'''Mark Perrin Lowrey''' (December 30, 1828 – February 27, 1885) was a [Southern Baptist](/source/Southern_Baptist) preacher otherwise known as the "Preacher General". He is known for being a [Confederate](/source/Confederate_States_Army) [brigadier general](/source/Brigadier_General_(CSA)) during the [Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War), for his works in the Mississippi Southern Baptist Convention, and for founding [Blue Mountain College](/source/Blue_Mountain_College).
==Early life and career==
Mark Perrin Lowrey was born in 1828, in [McNairy County, Tennessee](/source/McNairy_County%2C_Tennessee), to Adam and Marguerite (Doss) Lowrey.[Wakelyn, p. 291.] His parents had immigrated to America from [England](/source/England) and [Ireland](/source/Ireland), and Lowrey received no formal education.[Warner, p. 195.] His father died from yellow fever in Natchez Mississippi, when Lowrey was young.[[http://www.lib.usm.edu/~archives/m049.htm Rosewell G. Lowrey's "Lowrey (Mark Perrin) Autobiographical Essay Summary"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006232854/http://www.lib.usm.edu/~archives/m049.htm |date=2008-10-06 }}] In 1843, he moved with his family to [Mississippi](/source/Mississippi), where he became a bricklayer. During the [Mexican War](/source/Mexican-American_War), Lowrey enlisted as a [private](/source/Private_(rank)) in the 2nd Mississippi Volunteers in 1847.[Eicher, p. 355.] Neither he nor his regiment ever saw action in the conflict, and Lowrey was mustered out in July 1848.[Wakelyn, p. 291; Eicher, p. 355.]
After the war with Mexico ended, Lowrey married Sarah R. Holmes in 1849. In 1853, he was ordained to the Gospel Ministry at Farmington Baptist Church in Farmington, Mississippi. That same year, he became a [Southern Baptist](/source/Southern_Baptist) preacher, serving primarily around the village of [Kossuth, Mississippi](/source/Kossuth%2C_Mississippi).[ After preaching for eight years, the [American Civil War](/source/American_Civil_War) broke out and his congregation urged him to join the [Confederacy](/source/Confederate_States_of_America).][[http://www.historycentral.com/bio/CWcGENS/CSALowry.html Mark Perrin Lowrey Biography]] Lowrey also served as a [captain](/source/Captain_(United_States)) in the Mississippi State Militia in 1861.[
==Civil War service==
Lowrey began his war service in Mississippi's armed forces as the [colonel](/source/colonel) of the 4th Regiment, [Army of 10,000](/source/Army_of_10%2C000). This unit was disbanded in early 1862, and on April 3, 1862, he joined the Confederate army as commander of the 32nd Mississippi Infantry.][ He fought in, and was praised at, the [Battle of Shiloh](/source/Battle_of_Shiloh), [Battle of Perryville](/source/Battle_of_Perryville), the [Kentucky Campaign](/source/Kentucky_Campaign), and the [Battle of Chickamauga](/source/Battle_of_Chickamauga). At the [Battle of Perryville](/source/Battle_of_Perryville) in October 1862, Lowrey was shot in the left arm but stayed on the battlefield. During the retreat which began the next day, he had great difficulty keeping up with the army. He then obtained leave and traveled to his brother's house for safety. After six weeks of recuperation, Lowrey joined back with his forces and fought at the [Battle of Murfreesboro](/source/Battle_of_Murfreesboro) on January 1, 1863.][Jack D. Welsh's "Medical Histories of Confederate Generals" (1999) pg. 145.]
left|thumb|Lowrey as a Confederate Army General officer
On October 4, 1863 at the age of 35 Mark Lowrey was promoted to a [Brigadier General](/source/Brigadier_General_(CSA)).[
==Postbellum career and death==
After the war, Lowrey moved back to [Mississippi](/source/Mississippi) and focused on his studies.][Annah Walker Robinson Watson's "Of Sceptred Race" (1910) pg. 151-53.] Then, in 1873, he founded the [Blue Mountain Female Institute](/source/Blue_Mountain_College), which later became known as the [Blue Mountain College](/source/Blue_Mountain_College). Lowrey would also serve as president of the Mississippi Baptist convention from 1868 to 1877.[
Lowrey then persuaded a friend, Colonel William C. Falkner, to run his railroad near the college. Since he was a major shareholder of Falkner's Railroad, the plan was soon carried out.][Elmo Howell's "Mississippi Home-Places: Notes on Literature and History" (1988) pg. 29.] The school became quite a success and 3 generations of Lowreys became presidents of the school: General Lowrey himself, two of his sons, and a grandson. Following several years of teaching at the [Blue Mountain College](/source/Blue_Mountain_College), Lowrey became very sick and, in 1882, his doctors alerted him that his heart was very weak.